Foxes left bruised in Boxing Day thrashing at the hands of Newcastle
After losing only one of their 15 PL games before the World Cup break, confidence was evidently still oozing through the Newcastle side, who took a sensational two-goal lead inside seven minutes.
Firstly through Chris Wood, who thundered his spot-kick down the middle of the Leicester goal following Daniel Amartey’s reckless challenge on Joelinton.
The Magpies wasted little time in doubling their advantage through Miguel Almirón, who registered his ninth goal of the season.
Almirón played a neat one-two with Bruno Guimarães, before the Paraguayan drove through the feeble Leicester defence, slotting the ball beyond Danny Ward.
Although the hosts began to show signs of improvement, their uphill task became something of a mountain to climb when Newcastle added a third goal in the 32nd minute.
Joelinton towered over his marker to thump a powerful header home from Kieran Trippier’s out-swinging corner, ensuring the visitors headed into HT with a commanding lead.
Following a woeful first-half display, the Foxes knew that they would need a Christmas miracle to pull off an unlikely comeback.
Rodgers introduced the experience of Jamie Vardy at the break, and although the veteran forward added some much-needed impetus to Leicester’s attacking play, Newcastle’s sturdy defence was proving to be an immovable object.
In the closing stages, Nick Pope made a couple of comfortable saves to deny Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Wilfred Ndidi, securing his side their fourth consecutive clean sheet in all competitions and keeping the Magpies' machine rolling.
The win extends Newcastle’s unbeaten run to 11 league games, lifting them up to second place in the Premier League.
As for the Foxes, the defeat leaves them in 13th position, and they will be hoping for an improved display when the two sides meet again in the EFL Cup quarter-finals in January.
